Up and Coming Out
by thesosogatsby
Summary: A/U Ian Gallagher is the lead singer and guitarist of an up and coming punk rock band with his brother Lip, the bassist, and Mandy Milkovich, the drummer. Becoming more popular than they had first expected, things begin to change when Mandy's brother returns to Chicago after being juvie for several years. Ian and Mickey have never met before.
1. Chapter 1

**First story in the Shameless fandom, woo! I'll probably continue, depending on if people actually read. R&Rs help! I don't usually edit too thoroughly, that's solely my work ethic. If anyone wants to be a beta, then that would be cool!**

**In addition, I'm rating it as T for now, though it will be rated M later.**

**Any ideas of the band's name would be nice.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Shameless.**

The rusty van rolled to a halt in front of Ian's house, smoke oozing out from the exhaust. Rolling his eyes as the driver popped out of the vehicle, she bouncing up the porch steps and over to Ian's side. Jingling the keys in front of his face, Mandy smiled a toothy grin. Raising his eyebrows and looking down at his bandmate lovingly, he returned the smile. A tag was attached the the ring which labeled it _$2000_. Even though Ian knew that the price was steep, the dent in their budget wasn't too much, as they had just scheduled a few more gigs the other day. Jumping up and down, Mandy began spinning in circles.

She ran back down the steps, turned around and called up to a specific window on the second floor, "Lip! Get down here, you need to see the new van!"

The window was cracked and a head stuck out, Lip eyeing Mandy. His eyes darted over at the van, then back to Mandy.

"Did you really buy it? I thought you were kidding."

"I did, too." Ian muttered.

"It's gonna be great, guys. C'mon, you can't say it wasn't worth it."

Ian rolled his eyes again, walked down the steps and snatched the keys from her hands.

"Let's take it out for a bit," Then, calling up to his brother, "You gonna come with?"

Lip pulled his head back in and shut the window, groaning and bellowing out a loud 'no' as he did.

* * *

Ice creams in hand, Mandy and Ian pulled up in front of the Milkovich household.

"Where are we gonna keep it?" Ian asked.

"Near you, I don't think anyone would steal it there." Mandy said.

"I guess. Call me if that guy gets back to you. We need to finish writing the second half of the album, and you have to finish the recordings on the first 3 songs."

"I'll try, I might be busy this week. My dad's gonna get my brother from juvie tomorrow, and I might go with him."

"Which one?"

"Mickey."

"Never met him."

"Yeah, well, he's been in for more of his life than not so that's probably why."

Mandy got out of the van, blowing a kiss to Ian, laughing as she did.

_I hope this doesn't screw with Mandy_, Ian thought to himself. _She needs to finish those god damn recordings._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: That episode killed me, guys, it really did. Gonna upload more because why not! Band names still welcomed, at the moment I have "Outskirts" but that's it! Still not edited, sorry again. Betas... maybe?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Shameless, as usual.**

Walking up the stairs and verging into the bedroom that he and Lip shared, Ian lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The evening sunset was peaking through the window, and it was unusually quiet. At this time, everyone would be getting ready to have dinner, making tons of noise in the kitchen. However, Carl seemed to be elsewhere and Ian remember Debbie mentioning she'd be at a friend's that afternoon. Still, the quietness was unfamiliar to him. The house was never completely empty, though the silence enveloped him. Ian decided he didn't like it, solely because he wasn't used to it.

A little thought popped into his head, because he _could_ think with nothing distracting him: It had been almost 5 months still his last good fuck. He was becoming that sexually frustrated teen again- that definitely wasn't like him. There was this fear inside him that kept saying that people would figure out he was gay if he started sleeping around again. He was becoming more well known, at least in Chicago that is. Ian wasn't worried about being out, but he knew he would have a bigger chance of getting a beat down if it got out.

Ian heard some rustling in the room next door, though assumed it was just Lip and one of his girls. Lip's voice seeped through, the muffled tone of excited being expressed. After a second, he heard footsteps running down the stairs, then back up again. The bustling became louder, and it seemed as if someone was trying to get some stuff together in a hurry. Suddenly, his door opened and a hushed whisper echoed.

"Ian!"

Looking over at the door, Ian saw a disheveled Lip motioning for him to come with him. Ian clambered out of bed, and followed Lip down the steps and into the kitchen. Ian's guitar was lying on the table, along with a backpack that was stuffed.

"Got a call from that person at the Ottoman show- Delaney? Wants us to meet in 20 minutes downtown. If we leave now and go at least 10 more than the speed limit we'll get there in 15." Lip was stilling running around, grabbing things and putting them into the backpack.

"Who's Delaney? Wasn't _Jem_ supposed to call Mandy?"

"Less talking, more going."

With that, the two Gallagher boys grabbed their stuff and ran out to their newly purchased van. Ian had a lot of blind faith in Lip. The band had taken off because of him. Lip was determined to help fulfill his brother's dreams, and even though he was wrapped up in his problems most of the time, everything always came back to the band.

"Who is Delaney?" Ian inquired, still wanting answers.

"She works for Evans Records, interested in us, remember? Jem said he convinced her to go to the show, she liked us, and now she wants to meet with us. Get it now?"

"Yeah," Ian rolled his eyes. Lip had always been more of the head of the band than himself. It has taken only a minute to convince Jeremy to record and produce their stuff for a discounted price, and one recording session to make him be the band's number one advocate.

* * *

It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes, because once they entered the lobby of Evans Records and told the receptionist they were here for Delaney, they were told to take a seat and wait. The man at the desk was clean shaven with a white collared shirt, a black tie, and black slacks. It was a whole different world in the room, and Ian and Lip didn't seem to be ready in their somewhat dirty hoodies and messy hair.

"Ms. Evans isn't really for you two, yet. 5 minutes, perhaps? I'll tell her you're here."

Mentioning their thanks, Ian and Lip sat down on the fancy leather couches near the large windows.

"This looks a bit too nice." Lip muttered.

Chuckling under his breath, Ian looked around a bit. There were a few golden records on the wall with a small plaque beneath each denoting the band. The fountain that was stationed in the middle of the lobby was comprised of a glass wall that was connected to the ceiling, water falling on each side, landing in a black, stone basin. The whole aura was completely surreal. Ian would've never thought anything this good could've happened to him. Ever since he played a song he wrote to a kid at school and she said it could be on the radio. Then it was the open mic night with Lip. Every event after just snowballed until that very moment, sitting on nice couches, waiting for a someone who might just give them a record deal.

Clearing his throat, the receptionist spoke up, "Excuse me, Ms. Evans is ready for you. Go down the hall and to the left."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, I saw I was being followed by MintSauce and I had a little fit of giggles! Definitely my favourite Ian/Mickey author at the moment. Woo! Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate all of you so much! Again, editing is bare minimum. Sorry for many of the chapters being so short, I need to plan out the chapters a bit harder before writing...**

**I'm deciding between writing 600-1000 word updates every couple days or ~3000 to ~5000 words every week. What do you guys think?**

**Disclaimer: Shameless not mine, all OCs are, however Ian, Mandy, and Lip are not.**

**_thesosogatsby_**

The hallway walls looked the same as the walls in the lobby– it was almost as if the company was boasting about its wild success. It got darker as they walked down the hall and the suspense lingered. There were more offices, some of the labels denoting Principal Manager, Art Director, Junior Publicist, and more. A couple didn't have a name on them, assuming the people who were to enter the office had to know the person only by their title. Some of the labels were rather general, such as General Manager. At the end of the hall, there was a label that said Head Publicist, Senior Partner, and Founder, Ms. Delaney Evans– the only one with a name.

"Have you actually spoken with her?" Ian asked, stopping outside the door.

"Nah, she just said hello at the show. Said she'd call sometime, then left in a hurry. Seems like these publicist people are always busy."

"True, true."

Knocking twice, a voice from inside called out, signaling them to come inside. Lip opened the door, Ian following at his heels. Ian didn't remember meeting Delaney at that show, and his brother hadn't mentioned it afterwards. The band had been so busy, and no one really had any time to talk to each other about anything other than shows and recording.

The inside of the office had the same flooring and furniture theme as the lobby, though it was more cluttered and packed with random objects. The bookshelf was bursting with CDs and piles of magazines; the walls were barely visible through the posters and wooden plaques. Her desk was littered with miscellaneous papers, Burger King wrappers, and a ball of tangled wires. As cliché as it was, there were crumpled balls of paper around the trash can, only about 4 actually inside the bin.

Delaney was playing with strings of her pale beige hoodie, similar to his own. She was standing up from her seat, though still checking something on her computer. She mumbled to herself about how nothing could get done unless she was doing it herself, then scribbled something on a piece of paper quickly. Quickly pulling her bright pink hair up into a messy bun in a solid movement, Delaney looked up to see us idling. She seemed distant, though once she recognized Lip, she smiled widely.

"Lip! And you're Ian, I don't think we got to meet," walking around from her desk, she extended her hand. "It's really great to finally meet you. Your set the other night was fantastic. Oh, sorry about the short-notice meeting!" She vigorously shook Ian's hand, and then Lip's. "I've been so busy, and I see Mandy couldn't come, what a shame! She's a powerful addition to the band, love her! Love you guys! Your music has a vibe, has color and feeling, your personalities on stage, the fan base you have," sitting back down, motioning for us to sit as well. "I want to offer you guys a record deal. I know it's sudden, and usually this takes much more time, but all of my co-workers agree, you three are the new face of punk rock. Or, at least I said that and they smiled and nodded!"

"I'll have to talk with Mandy," Lip replied. "We wouldn't want to make any life-changing decisions, y'know?"

"Oh, of course! I get it, I really do. Each person in the band is a part of an integral system that can only work when every member is in consensus. I love it!"

Ian smiled gently, warming up to the exuberant woman. She seemed to be genuinely interested in the band, which was comforting. Looking over at Lip, Ian saw the brightness in his eyes. Both Gallaghers knew that this seemed to be the right fit. However, both had the same thought– what would Mandy think?

* * *

Lip texted Mandy on the way toward her house, saying they were coming over. The van was sturdy, but every time they went over a bump, the windows would rattle and their seats would shake vigorously. Ian silently cursed Mandy for not buying one that wouldn't scare him half to death each time he rode in it. He guessed it was good they had a van at all, but at the same time he wished they had spent the extra few hundred to buy a better van.

A couple homeless men were sitting on the side of the street, equipped with cups with a dollar or so and their large rucksacks. Ian tried to remember those people every day, thanking whoever was watching over him for making sure he wasn't one of them. He and his family had come awfully close on multiple occasions, and it was a scary thought to think.

A minute later, his phone buzzed, and Lip tossed it over to Ian.

"Can you check it?"

Flipping open the phone, Ian saw the text from Mandy.

_My dad and I just left to go pick up my bro early. See you tomorrow -M xoxo_

"Hey, just go back home."

"Uh, and why is that, Ian?"

"She's not there, man. Went to get her brother from juvie."

"Oh, gotcha. Which one?"

Ian chuckled before replying, "I said the same thing. His name's Mickey, don't think I've ever met 'im."

"Me neither," Lip agreed. A bit of silence followed before he spoke again. "So, how're you doing? We haven't had a good talk in awhile."

"Ah, man, nothing much. I'm fine, music's really our lives right now, not much else."

"What about that guy you were banging?"

"Not much anymore. We've been busy, y'know?"

"Well, just because we're busy doesn't mean we don't have time to have a little fun. I don't waste my spare time, if you know what I mean." Lip grinned.

"I don't know, I guess I don't want any bad publicity."

"Okay, Ian, you're my brother, so I'd tell you when you fucked up, or I fucked up, okay? I know we talked about that when we started getting more gigs and shit, but hell, you can still sleep with people! You don't need to go all celibate on me."

Laughing as he replied, "Definitely not celibate."

The Gallaghers continued to crack into fits upon fits of laughter, filling the van with the giddy noise. The aura happiness didn't dissipate until they arrived home, though a cloud of it still surrounded them as they went inside to make some dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, not going to spoil for anyone who didn't watch the season finale, but I can't deal with it with 8 months. I might write a little drabble about it, but make it happier :)**

**Since I've been obsessed with 2003 Brand New recently, I'm going to use Outskirts lyrics as the album Deja Entendu. The sound is similar to what I imagine them playing, so yeah.**

**Just as a second clarifier, Ian is only out to Lip at this point, not to everyone else in canon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless**

**Song:**

**The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot - Brand New**

The next morning, Ian rolled over a bit too much and fell out onto the floor. It wasn't too big of a drop, but definitely enough to wake him up too early. Lazily looking over to the clock, it blinked 11:15 again and again. Knowing that Mandy probably wouldn't be up since she had to pick up her brother last night, he simply rolled back over in bed and fell asleep again.

He was jutted awake by a freezing cold blanket.

"Wake up, asshole," Lip yelled.

Jumping out of bed, he realized his brother had pulled off the comforter and throw a bucket of water on him. Chasing after him, they got to the kitchen and starting play-fighting. A minute later, Fiona meandered downstairs and saw the boys, Lip in a headlock.

"Guys! Cut it out! You might break something," Lip pulled himself out of Ian's grip, and ran back upstairs. Chasing after him, his brother held one of his guitars in his hands.

"Don't hit me. Let's jam a bit before practice tonight."

Ian, still drenched, frowned. Pushing passed Lip, he pulled off his shirt and pants, pulling on some dry clothes. Grabbed his guitars from Lip, he began to strum a bit. They played for a bit, fiddling around with different chord combinations. After about a half hour, they figured they had something that was pretty good.

"Do you have any lyrics?"

Ian began strumming the pattern he had figured out, and Lip listened contently.

"If it makes you less sad," he started out, "I will die by your hand, hope you find out what you are, already know what I am."

Lip began to pluck to the notes on his bass, a constant riff.

"And if it makes you less sad, we'll start talking again. You can tell me how vile I already know that I am..."

He stopped strumming, realizing what he was singing. It was a dream he had had a week before. As much as he didn't want it to come true, he knew it would never get to that point. At that moment, he was so far stuffed inside the closet that he wasn't sure whether he would ever come out at all.

"That's great stuff. You might want to call Mandy now, kay? Tell her the news?"

"Aight," he said, seeing the clock for the second time that day. It was almost 3 by that point, and they had their actual band practice at 5. Lip had told Ian that he had tried to get Mandy to move in with them, because the Gallaghers were able to practice whenever they wanted. She had declined, saying that their house was crowded enough already. Ian was dead set on convincing her, but he hadn't gotten anywhere.

Ian grabbed Lip's phone, and clicked the second speed dial. After a couple rings, Mandy picked up.

"Hey, Ian. Practice still at 5, right?"

"Yeah, but we have some news for you. Can I get you before then?"

"Uh, sure, I guess... in an hour?"

"That works, see ya then."

Throwing on some clothes roughly, he walked back down and set himself up in front of the TV, and started playing on the XBox they had recently acquired. People were walking in and out of the house, some cleaning up, some playing around, but everyone was doing something. It was a definite contrast from the day before, calm seas turned into raging waves. He tried to focus on the mindless video games, as ironic as that is. However, he kept wandering into territory which he didn't visit often.

His life was changing. If they actually got a good record deal and made the album, they'd finally have enough money to pay back Fiona for the money she lent them. Then they'd be able to help pay for the mortgage and all the bills. Maybe even buy new clothes for Debbie and Carl and Liam. Ian wanted the weight on Fiona's shoulders to be less, because at the moment it was too much for any one person to bare.

Looking up at the clock, he realized an hour had passed, so he got up to leave.

* * *

Sliding up in front of the Milkovich household, he locked the car and walked up to the door, knocking twice. A minute passed with no answer, and Ian looked at his watch. Knocking again, he heard some sudden crashing around.

"Are ya gonna fucking get that?" Someone yelled from inside.

There wasn't a reply to the yell, and after some loud stomping, the door was yanked open. A guy who was shorter than him stood there, a stained wife-beater, and his black hair sticking out. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes as they adjusted to the afternoon sun shining in his eyes.

"You must be Mickey," Ian said after a second.

"Yeah, who the fuck are you?"

"Ian," he paused. "Uh, I'm here for Mandy."

"She ain't back yet," Mickey said as he returned to his place on the couch, grabbing the controller.

Ian stood there, clearly dumbfounded by the newly met Milkovich.

"Are ya coming in? Close the fuckin' door, man."

Stepping inside the house, he shut the door behind him. Entering the living room, he just stood there, unable to conjure any words. Mickey was a strong personality and it definitely took him a minute to regroup.

Ian realized he was staring at Mickey, and when the shorter boy saw the stare, he immediately reacted.

"What the fuck you looking at?"

"Nothing," Ian replied, moving his gaze away.

"So you're in that band, right?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, Outskirts."

"Mandy's in it?"

"Yeah, drummer."

"Ha, didn't know she could play."

"She practices a ton."

"Haven't been 'round."

"She told me."

"'Parently punchin' a cop gets ya thrown in the joint," he muttered.

Ian was about the chuckle, but decided against it. He knew what Milkovichs were capable of, and he didn't want to get on the bad side of one of them.


End file.
